College notes: Early's Donahoo coming into her own as HPU's point guard

When the former NCAA Division III Player of the Year and current Howard Payne coach speaks, everyone listens ... and learns.

"When Meia tells them this is the way she did it, everyone listens," Yellow Jackets' coach Joshua Prock said. "They know she was the best player on a national championship team."

Starting point guard Tresta Donahoo counts herself lucky to have learned as an understudy to Brittany Roberson and now from Daniels.

"She really motivates me and our team," Donahoo said. "If you don't have a good defensive game, she is going to push you to be a little better and lets you know what you are capable of. She did that to me after one game. I am glad to have her here."

Daniels was part of four teams that produced an amazing

109-12 record including 33-0 her senior season when she was National Player of the Year.

"She has brought a quiet confidence to this team," Prock said. "It is great to have her back."

Tresta Donahoo credits former Howard Payne All-American Brittany Roberson with helping her become the player she is today.

And yet the Lady Jackets' junior from Early is superior statistically to Roberson six games into her career as a starter. Fifth-year HPU coach Joshua Prock said he isn't surprised the fiery Donahoo has kept the point guard position in good hands for the Lady Jackets. Nevertheless, he admits the numbers surprise him.

"Maybe not at this level," Prock said of Donahoo's averages. "I could see the improvement last year when she went against Brittany in practice every day. I watched her get better every day. She is a very emotional player and leader. She can't do anything at half speed."

Through her first six games, Donahoo's numbers are eye-popping. She is averaging 22 points, six rebounds, 4.5 assists and three steals. Her shooting percentage is exceptional — 53 percent from the field, including 58 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 83 percent foul shooting for a 5-1 team.

Prock got a glimpse of what was to come in the opening scrimmage against Division I Stephen F. Austin. While the Lady Jackets couldn't keep up with the Lumberjacks, Prock said Donahoo "handled herself well against their quick, long, athletic point guards."

The 5-foot-4 Donahoo doesn't fit the mold of a high-scoring point guard. For one thing, she said that when she came to Howard Payne it wasn't to be an immediate starter but to learn from an accomplished point guard. Also, ask Donahoo what gives her the most pleasure and her answer is a surprise — "What I love most is rebounding. It is my favorite thing."

"When I came here, I wanted to fit in," Donahoo said. "I wanted people in front of me. If not for B-Rob (Roberson), I would not have gotten where I am. She pushed me to be the type of player I am today."

During practices, Roberson would school Donahoo. She took those practice sessions as motivation and put as much into them as she puts into games now as a starter and the team's leading scorer.

"I thank my teammates," said Donahoo, a psychology major. "They help me a lot. I give them credit for believing in me. I have so much more confidence this year."

It shows. Her teammates noticed from the start when she joined HPU's three seniors as one of the captains. Remember, this is a young woman who had yet to start a game prior to this season.

Donahoo, an all-state performer in basketball and softball at Early, played in the same backcourt as Bailey Harris, a three-year starter at Schreiner. The two have been best friends since childhood and keep in close contact. Donahoo ran the point for three years in high school while Harris was the shooting guard. Harris has moved to point guard this season.

A year ago, HPU was a popular choice to rule the American Southwest Conference and perhaps follow the giant footsteps left by the 2007-08 squad that won the NCAA Division III national title.

"We clashed last year," Donahoo said. "We had our moments when we weren't always on the same page. This year our chemistry is so much better."

Prock concurred, saying this is the most fun he has had coaching.

Leading the team is an undersized, overachieving firebrand whose numbers are more like those posted by assistant coach Meia Daniels than of Roberson.

Donahoo knows, though, the only numbers and achievements she and the team will be measured by are wins, an ASC title and an NCAA run.

Keeping Up

Peyton Little — Former Wylie player, a freshman at Texas A&M, had two points, two rebounds and two assists as the Aggies beat TCU.

Dakota Rawls — Former Bronte player, a sophomore at Angelo State, had 30 points, 11 rebounds and two assists as the Rams beat Tarleton State and lost to Texas A&M-Commerce. He had a game-high 25 points against the Lions.

Chesney Neely — Former Goldwaithe player, a sophomore at Angelo State, had two points, and a rebound as the Rambelles lost to Tarleton State and beat Texas A&M-Commerce.

Elijah Hudson — Former Albany player, a junior at Mary Hardin-Baylor, had 18 rushes for a team-high 76 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 3 yards in the No. 2 Crusaders' 48-35 semifinal playoff loss to No. 1 Mount Union.

Bailey Harris — Former Early player, a junior at Schreiner, had 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists as the Mountaineers lost to Ozarks and UT-Dallas.

Katie Isom — Former Early player, a freshman at Schreiner, had 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Mountaineers lost two games.

Sara Byrd — Former Brownwood player, a freshman at Concordia, had two points and two rebounds as the Tornadoes lost to Louisiana College and Mississippi College.

Kaitlyn Moody — Former Eula player, a sophomore at Sul Ross State, had 22 points and six rebounds as the Lobos beat Dallas Christian and lost to Letourneau.

Dejan Sencanski — Former Abilene Christian player had 20 points and seven rebounds as Cognac split two games in the French Basketball League.

Corin Henry — Former Tarleton State player had a game-high 29 points, five rebounds and three assists as the Sydney Kings beat the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL.

BASKETBALL

Popelar picked

Hardin-Simmons senior Alexis Popelar was named American Southwest Conference West Division Player of the Week.

Howard Payne junior Tresta Donahoo was named to the D3hoops.com team for the second time this season.

Donahoo, an Early product, had back-to-back 25-point performances against Mississippi College and Louisiana College, and averaged 7.5 rebounds and four assists.

TexAnns named

Tarleton State juniors Kiara Wright and Peyton Adamson won weekly awards from the Lone Star Conference.

Wright was named Defensive Player of the Week and Adamson was named co-Offensive Player of the Week. Wright averaged 15 points, 16 rebounds and 2.5 steals in two TexAnn wins. Adamson averaged 17.5 points in the two wins.

McM women recover

McMurry's women got off to a miserable start in their first season in Division II, but the War Hawks have recovered well.

McMurry started 0-5, capped by an 82-23 blowout at West Texas A&M. Since then, the War Hawks have won three of four with only a one-point defeat in that span. The unbalanced schedule has McMurry playing 12 of its first 13 games on the road.

Keisha Collins is the only War Hawk averaging in double figures scoring 11 points per game.

FOOTBALL

Baiza selected

McMurry senior punt returner/defensive back D.J. Baiza was named a first-team All-American by Beyond Sports Network.

Baiza returned 18 punts for an average of 20.8 yards, including two for touchdown. That gave him five returns for TD during his career.

Hudson academic

Mary Hardin-Baylor junior running back Elijah Hudson of Albany was named to the Capital One Division III Academic All-America team.

Hudson carries a 3.86 grade point average as a pre-physical therapy major. He has totaled more than 1,000 yards of offense for the Crusaders. Hudson was a second-team pick last year.

Johnson chosen

Tarleton State senior Rufus Johnson was named to the Beyond Sports Network All-America team.

Johnson earned second-team honors after collecting 10 sacks and 17½ tackles for loss during the season.

SOCCER

Wood honored

Hardin-Simmons coach Marcus Wood was named the West Region Division III Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

It was the fourth time that Wood received the award and first time since 2010. Wood led the Cowgirls to a 18-1-2 record and to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.